Chief Scientist: Act Now or Live Through Deadly Post Antibiotic Resistance Era

Which is worse – a legitimate threat or the urgency of forceful solutions?

Leprosy. Bubonic Plague. Consumption. Dying from childbirth. These are periods in history that summon shudders of horror and gratitude to move beyond – but we seem to be coming around full circle.

In only the latest round of stern warnings about the antibiotic bubble, Australia’s chief scientist is warning that if something drastic is not done soon, even small issues like sore throats and minor infections could be deadly one day not so far off. “There is now a genuine threat of humanity returning to an era where mortality due to common infections is rife,” a new report says.

It was only in May that the UK’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, sounded an alarm. “If we don’t take action, in 20 years’ time we could be back in the 19th century where infections kill us as a result of routine operations.” She had said this at a World Health Assembly in Geneva. Beware of urgent warnings – we would do well to pay attention to the offered “solutions” below – which are more alarming than the threat.

A top-level Australian scientist, Ian Chubb, affirms her warning with the report from his scientists and talks of a deadly ‘post anti-biotics era’ saying that the miracle of modern drugs are already “developing resistance to antibiotics at an alarming pace.”

The biggest concern is the overuse of antibiotics which led to resistance – the same pattern is seen in many developed countries. Nearly 80% goes to livestock and both the resistance and ensuing infections have potential to spread to humans. The other disconcerting findings show some of the ways antibiotics become resistant: hide by finding new pathways apart from antibiotics (especially true for Lyme), produce chemicals that destroy the antibiotic, or expel it from its walls. Basically, they adapt and survive like anything else in nature.

In May, Davies called for international action and spoke to representatives from the member states in the UK as well as officials from other countries.

UK Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said:

We need stronger international partnerships and coalitions so that the threat of AMR [antimicrobial resistance] is fully recognised and the responsibility for reducing it is shared.

Davies:

But we can’t really tackle it unless we get coordinated, international action, which is why we’re working in partnership to push it up the global political agenda. [emphasis added]

Dame Sally says the threat is such that it should be added to the Government’s National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies. I think she’s right. So does the World Health Organisation, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Their repeated warnings that antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest threats to human health have culminated in the ”10×20 challenge’’ to world governments: to find 10 new antibiotics by 2020.

Discussions focused on the main objectives of the new UK cross-government Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, to be published in the summer, which include:

slowing down the development and spread of AMR, by improving understanding, surveillance and prescribing

maintaining the efficacy of existing antimicrobials, by stricter infection prevention and better stewardship

supporting the development of new antimicrobials and alternative treatments by closer working with regulatory bodies, the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU) and other international partners

Ian Chubb’s report wants urgent investment in new vaccines and antibiotics – big emphasis on new vaccines as the new combat “cornerstones.” There is even talk of commercially made antibodies and extracting components from viruses. Other scientists are trying to harvest new bacteria from volcano vents and sub-glacial lakes. The conclusion, as always, calls for more money, research, and new developments mostly dealing with antibiotics – but the global partnership and stratagems are what need we really need to watch.

It is almost like waiting for the very people responsible for it to do something effective – the problem and the solution came from the same place – you could say, regulatory force. The demand for the agencies who watched it happen to join forces to ban, mandate, and usher in more of the same make me want to take my chances with the super bacteria.

Sobering stuff that we hardly had any knowledge of or control over until the last 20 years. Where is the hope? What are we to do? Knowledge of these traps is empowering, but what now?

There is great hope and great reason to take heart. The whole idea of antibiotics to begin with operates on Germ Theory (outward attack on germs – kill them all! Exterminate!) It’s a double-edged sword that leads doctors (and CAFO farmers) to unwittingly harm the good microbes we are made of and creates a debt – and now, a relentless counterforce. But, if your body replaces itself every so often it can never be truly hopeless.

Terrain Theory, a vastly different paradigm, holds a lot of empowerment and was allegedly conceded to by Louis Pasteur on his death bed. Amidst a group of physicians and scientists, Claude Bernard (one of the fathers of Terrain) made the statement: “The terrain is everything; the germ is nothing,” and then drank down a glass of water filled with cholera. (more info)

Terrain is more than a healthy immune system and a fascinating study. It’s mind, body, spirit, consciousness and inner/outer environment. It means “germs” are attracted to a disease environment and are more a result than the cause of an issue. Healthy terrain requires alkaline environment, nutrition in and toxins out – including stress, toxic emotions/thoughts and negativity.

Modern medicine seeks to destroy the immune system and terrain – the very things needed to prevent and have strength during potential sickness. Scare-tactics and talk of forceful mandates add more terrain-damaging fear. You have the power, you can strengthen that terrain.